Ribbed insole and method of making the same



May 9, 1944. Q J. CALLEO RIBBED INSOLE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAMEFiled Nov. 19, 1941 Patented May 9, 1944 RIBBED INSOLE AND METHOD OFMAKING SAME Joseph Calleo, Endicott, N. Y., assignor to PuritanManufacturing Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of MassachusettsApplication November 19, 1941, Serial No. 419,74o

THE

11 Claims.

This invention relates to insoles for welt shoes, and particularly tosoles of the type in which a separate rib for receiving the stitches ofthe inseam of the shoe is applied to a flat body. Insoles of this typehave long been made in which the rib is composed of a stiff core and astrip of flexible material folded to embrace the core closely andprovided with flaps or flanges bent away from the core and laid flatagainst the body of the insole, and secured thereto by sewed seams oradhesive. Such an insole is shown in the patent of Jesse V. Poole No.1,137,282, dated April 27, 1915.

In the commercial manufacture of such insoles it has been the practiceto use as the covering material strips of plain woven duck cut on thebias so that the interwoven threads make angles of approximately 45 withthe length of the strip, in order thatthe flanges may stretch in beingcarried around convex curves and lie flat against the surface of thebody. The necessity of stretching is particularly marked with respect tothe outer rib flange at the toe end of the sole Where the curvature ofthe rib is sharp and embraces a large angle. If without capacity forstretching, the flange surrounding a part of such sharp and extensivecurvature would be drawn strongly away from the body of the insole andcould not be smoothly held flat against the body. The bias cut fabric iscapable of thus stretching in sufiicient degree. But the preparation ofbias cut strip material in the great lengths required for economicalcommercial manufacture of such insoles involves considerable expenseadditional to the cost of the fabric itself. This is because thecontinuous long strips must be composed of a large number of relativelyshort strips cut diagonally from the woven fabric are joined together attheir ends. There is also some incidental waste of material and loss ofeffective length in the continuous strips due to the overlap at thejoined ends of the constituent bias cut strips.

One object of my invention is to eliminate such expense and waste bymaking possible the use of fabric covering strips which are outlengthwise of the woven cloth and may therefore be made of anyidesiredIength,.however great, in integral continuity without joints,,junctionsor overlaps. Another object is to enable other flexible materials thanwoven fabrics, which have little or no appreciable capacity forstretching, to be used in making ribs of the type described.

The invention comprises the method ofapply;-

ing such a rib to the body of an insole and simultaneously slitting theouter flange thereof in lines extending (preferably perpendicular to,the length of the strip) from pointsnear the outstanding rib to theouter edge of the strip; and slitting the inner flange as well ifdesired. It also comprises a means for thus slitting the outer flange,or both flanges, of such a rib and the combination thereof with meansfor applying the rib strip to the insole body. It'further comprises theresulting insole provided with a flanged rib of which at least the outerflange is slit or cut through at short intervals in at least thatportion which follows the outline of the toe end of the sole.

The drawings furnished herewith show an insole made in accordance withthis invention and an illustrative embodiment of means for folding a ribstrip, applying such strip to the body of an insole, and slitting theouter flange of the strip in the course of applying it; and in thedrawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the bottom of the insole referred to;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the insole taken on line 2-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation, partly cut away and shown in section, of amachine for applying a rib strip to the body of an insole and slittingthe outer flange thereof;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the tool or instrument of such machineby which the slitting of the strip and feeding of the insole isaccomplished;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 of Figs. 3 and6;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the strip folding, slitting and feeding meansof the machine, being the parts beneath the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Like reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occurin all the figures.

The insole shown in these figures, like that of the Poole patentreferred to, consists of a body a and a rib composed of a folded strip17 embracing a stiff reinforcing or core strip 0 and having an outwardlyturned lip or flange b and an inwardly turned lip or flange b laid flatagainst the body and secured thereto. Preferably, and in accordance withthe common present day practice, the strip b is covered with a coatingof dried rubber latex and the area of the body a against which it isapplied is likewise provided with a coating of the same substance. Whenthese coatings are brought in contact and firmly pressed together, theyunite and create a powerful bond.

Preferably the strip b is made of cotton duck.

33, reciprocate the bars 24 and 23 and oscillate the rocker 25 throughconnections of known character, such as those illustrated in the patentto J. V. Poole No. 2,042,275 dated May 26, 1936. These connections areconstructed and arranged to advance the bar 24 toward the work when thea convex curve. Such spreading is shown in the drawing at the toe end ofthe sole; and it the sides of the fore part. .The'tongues offabricbetween the opened slits lie flat against the adjacent surface ofthe body and are firmly united thereto by the bonding material.

The strip is folded and applied progressively to the body of the insole,thework is fed step by step, and the outer flange is cut-with eachfeeding step, Icy-correlated means, of which an illustrative form isshown in' the drawing. These means-comprise a table it on which the body'a is placed, a folder-"ll secured to the table, a' presser J2, aslitting knife 13, which is also a feeder and, preferably, one or moreadditional feeding pointsorawls M and H5. The knife and "awls aremounted to have a reciprocating vertical movement beneath the presserl2, and also a lateral movement to right and left with respect to theposition shown in Fig. 3.- The folder H is secured to the table locatedinfan v inclined position beneath the table with its do livery enddirectly under the presser, and is arranged to receive the strips b andc from any suitable sources of'supply, here diagrammatically representedas rolls or spools mounted conveniently near to the fo'lder'on suitablesupports, not shown. The folder here shown is of well known character,not of my invention, and need not be described further than by sayingthat it contains a passageway for the core strip, a passage for thefabric strip, and internal formations adapted to bend the fabric striplongitudinally around the core strip and bend the flanges b" and b awayfrom the core strip inthe same plane. The folder 'is so located as todeliver'the strip against the under side of the innerisole body, and hasa top surface l6 (Fig. 6). underlying a portion of the presser i2 andcooperating therewith to press the coated side'ofv the rib flanges b andb forcibly against the coated area of the body. Openings IT and I8 areprovided in the delivery end of the folder to receive, and permit backand forth movements of, the knife and feeding awls. The presser issecured to a bar '!9.which is movable endwise in the overhanging head 28of the machine, and is pressed upon, by a leaf spring 2|; the springforcing'the presser toward the surface I 60f the folder. An arm 22secured to bar l9 typifies means-by which the presser may be raised toadmit and release the work, and may also be considered as typifyingautomatic means, such as those with which sewing machines are commonlyequipped, for relieving the presser in timewith the work feeding steps.

.The knife and feeding awls are secured to a block 23 on a bar 24 whichreciprocates in a rockerI25 secured to a rock shaft 26 in themachinebase 2?. 'A second bar 28 also reciprocates in the rocker', 25and carries fingers 2d and 30 which embrace and supportthe knife andawls near the. work. A shaft 3! carrying. two eccentrics, one of whichis shown at 32, and a cam rocker is near the right hand limit of swing(with respect to Fig. 3), swing therocker from right to left while theknife and awls extend to some extent into the work, withdraw the bar 28at the end of this swinging movement, and swing the rocker from left toright while the knife and "awls are clear of the work.

i The fact is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 that the knife it" is:arranged to move toward and away from theplane irryvhich the body a isheld, at that side of the rib from which the flange b projects. tswidth, and the length and position of its cutting edge, are such that itwill cut the flange b from the outer edge thereof inward to a point nearthe base of the rib; It is provided with a shank 34 adjustableendwise'in a socket within the block '23, and is set, and secured by aset screw 35 so that its edge will pass all' the way throughthethickness of flange b, in the course of the upwardimovement of bar 29.The awls I A and 15' are similarly'mounted and adjustable, and are setso that they will penetrate the insole deeply enough to propel theinsole without slip during the feeding movements. The knife cooperateswith the awls in feeding the work, besides performing its exclusivefunction of slitting the rib flange. The feeding steps are made ofsuitable length to'space the cuts at convenient distances apart and tofeedthe work at a sufficiently rapid rate. Considerable, latitude ispossible in this regard. I may say however, by way of illustration andnot limitation of themvention, that I have found three or four sixteenths of an inch to be a very. suitable and convenient-length for thefeeding steps.

Variations from thespecific disclosure here shown maybe madewithin thescope of the invention. For example, the operation of slitting andfeeding may be combined with a sewing operation so as to secure theribby seams, as'speciflcally shown in the before mentioned .Poole Patent1,137,282. Also it is not essential that the rib be made with aninserted core. Other known forms of rib strip which have. base flangesor, lips may be applied and slitted in the same way. Again, if desired,a knife similar tothe knife l3, but oppositely disposed, may be.substituted for the awls I 4 and I5 with its shank set in thesocket ofthe awl I4, for slitting the inner flange as well as the outer flange.Butsuch second knife is generally unnecessary, because the inwardlyconvex curves of insole ribs are ,seldom sharp enough to causeelongation of the margin of the inner flange beyond the capacity forlengthwise stretching of cotton duck. And it goes with out saying thateither or both of the .awls may be omitted without substitution of aknife, al-

, though it is preferable'to have at least one awl to assist theoperator in correctly guiding the work.

It will be readily understood that the means here shown and described,and equivalents thereof, enable the objects set forth in theintroductory part of this specification to be accomplished withcertainty and without difficulty. Toe curvatures of any degree ofsharpness may be surrounded by base flanges slit in the mannerdescribed, and thesegments of the flange between the slits will lie flatagainst the surface ofthe insole body with no more tendency to draw awaytherefrom than is present in the case of bias cut fabric or straightportions of any material. And any other material, which is sufficientlyflexible to be folded in the manner described and applied in a curvedline to the surface of a body, may be used in place of cotton duck asthe material for the rib, including such as have even less capacity forstretching than that of cotton duck in the direction of its warp.

The term straight cut where used in the following claims to characterizethe fabric strip is defined as meaning that, in cutting wide fabrics tomake the strip material, the fabric is cut along the direction of one ofits sets of interwoven crossed threads or yarns so that such threadsextend lengthwise of the strip. More specifically, it signifies that thestrip is severed from the fabric in the direction of the warp.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

, 1. The method of making a ribbed innersole which comprises leading afolded strip of flexible material having outwardly turned flanges to thebody of an insole in such fashion that said flanges are brought againstone surface of said body, feeding the strip and body step by stepsimultaneously in the same direction at the same speed, and slitting oneof said flanges crosswise in timed relation with the feeding steps.

2. The method of making a ribbed innersole which consists in folding astraight out strip of textile fabric to form a rib and outturned flangesat the base of such rib, applying and securing said flanges to one faceof an innersole body in a manner such that the rib protrudes from thebody and extends in a line generally similar to the outline of the body,and slitting one of the flanges transversely from its outer edge towardthe base of the rib.

3. The method of making a ribbed innersole which consists in folding astraight out strip of textile fabric to form a rib and outturned flangesat the base of such rib, applying and securing said flanges to one faceof an innersole body in a manner such that the rib protrudes from thebody and extends in a line generally similar to the outline of the body,and slitting one of said flanges at points near together and in linesextending from its outer edge transversely of the length of the striptoward the base of the rib.

4. The method of making a ribbed innersole which consists in folding astraight cut strip of textile fabric to form a rib and outturned flangesat the base of such rib, applying and securing said flanges to one faceof an innersole body in a manner such that the rib protrudes from thebody and extends in a line generally similar to the outline of the body,and slitting one of the flanges transversely from its outer edge towardthe base of the rib simultaneously with the step of applying the rib tothe insole body.

5. The method of making a ribbed insole which comprises progressivelybringing an innersole body and a flanged rib strip of flexible materialinto contact on one of the sides of such body in a line generallysimilar to the outline of the body and successively cutting slits acrossone of the flanges of such strip during the progress of bringing thestrip flanges and insole body together.

6. The method of making a ribbed insole comprising placing a flat bodyof such insole in position to receive a 'rib, leading a flanged flexiblerib "strip toward and .into contact with one face of such body, passingthe edge of a knife toward said body from a location at a distancetherefrom in a path and to an extent such that the knife edge passesthrough one flange of the strip and enters, but without penetrating, thesubstance .of said body and severs the said flange in a line extendingfrom its outer edge toward the base of the rib, moving said knifetransversely of its edge to feed the work, withdrawing the knife clearof said body and rib flange, moving the knife while clear of the workoppositely to the feeding movement, repeating the above described cycleof movements of the knife a number of times, and guiding the said bodyand rib strip so as to cause the rib strip to be applied thereto in 3lne conforming generally to the outline of the 7. An apparatus forproducing ribbed insoles having an attached flanged rib with transverseslits in one flange of such rib, comprising a slitting knife, means formoving said knife in a cycle consisting of advance, edge foremost,feeding movement in a direction transverse both to its edge and to thedirection of its advancing movement, withdrawal, and return to startingposition; combined with an opposed abutment arranged to support aninsole against the thrust of the knife in position to cause penetrationof the knife edge through the flange of such rib, the knife beingarrested in its advancing movement short of such abutment.

8. A machine for applying a flanged stitch receiving rib to an insolebody and slitting one of the flanges of such rib comprising a guide forsuch a strip having a surface adapted to support the flanges of the rib,a presser cooperating with said surface to put such flanges and the bodyof an insole under pressure, a knife having a cutting edge on its endprojecting toward said presser from the side thereof at which the stripguide is located, said knife being mounted to move toward and away fromsaid presser and also in a direction transverse both to its edge and tothe direction of its first named movement, and means for so moving saidknife in a cycle consisting of advance toward the presser, displacementlaterally in one direction, withdrawal from the presser, anddisplacement laterally in the opposite direction.

9. A machine for applying a flanged stitch receiving rib to an insolebody and slitting one of the flanges of such rib comprising a guide forsuch a strip having a surface adapted to support the flanges of the rib,a presser cooperating with said surface to put such flanges and the bodyof an insole under pressure, a knife having a cutting edge on its end, acarrier for said knife holding the same with its cutting end extendingtoward said presser from a location at the same side thereof as thestrip guide, the knife being movable back and forth on said carrier inthe direction of its length, its movement toward the presser beinglimited to end at a distance from the presser less than the thickness ofsuch innersole body, and the carrier being movable back and forthtransversely both of the cutting edge and of the direction of the firstnamed movement, and mean for imparting their prescribed movements to theknife and knife carrier respectively in a predetermined sequence. 7 r 4I 10. A machine for the purpose set forth comprising a presser and afolded flanged strip guide arranged to receive an insole body and theflanges of a rib strip between and in contact with them, a carriermovable back and forth in a path substantially parallel to the coactingportions of said guide and presser, a knife holder mounted on saidcarrier and guided to move thereon in a path transverse to the movementof the carrier, a knife secured to said holder having an edge at one endin a line transverse to both the movement of the carrier and themovement of the knife holder, and correlated mechanism for moving saidcarrier and knife holder in their respective paths and in apredetermined cycle.

11. In a machine of the character described having a rock shaft, arocker secured to said shaft and a bar movable endwise in said rocker ina path transverse to the movements of the rocker; a knife secured tosaid bar having a cutting edge at one end lying in a, line transverse tothe directions of movement of both the rocker and bar.

- JOSEPH CALLEO.

